Package



United States Patent inventor Eugene J. Meierlioefer Chester, Pa. Appl. No. 762,442 Filed Sept. 25,1968 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 Assignee American Home Products Corporation New York, N.Y. a corporation of Delaware PACKAGE 4 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs. [1.8. CI.; 206/56, 221/25 Int. Cl. 865d 83/04; G07f 1 1/66 Field ofSearcli ..206/56(A4)v [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,008,659 7/1935 Salfisberg 206/56(A3) 2,771,214 11/1956 Lefebvre 206/58 2,790,545 4/1957 Klein et a1 206/58 3,349,901 10/ 1 967 Brautigam 206/78(B) 3,403,869 10/ l 968 Marchisen et a1. 206/78(B) Primary Examiner-William T. Dixson, Jr. Anomey-Joseph Martin Weigman ABSTRACT: The disclosure is directed to a dispensing package for strip pack unit dose medicaments. The package is round, transparent and has a slot for strip-pack feedout. The package closure may be labeled to identify the contents.

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SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY PACKAGE This invention is directed to a dispensing package for medicaments. More particularly, the invention is directed to a substantially round package for disp'erisingcontinuous strippackaged solid dose forms, such as tablets or capsules.

One of the known forms of the containers, usually folding boxes, for continuous strip package dispensing is rectilinear with the strip pack coiled about an axis which is substantially horizontal. The strip pack is dispensed through an opening in the top of the package. The cost of such' a package and set up 'is relatively high.

The prior art packages, present problems to successful dispensing of the strips due to the rectangular-shape of the box and interference, caused by other internal structures necessary to support, dispense, "and retain the strip pack. A common problem associated'with dispensing is that of the strip coil balling or binding in a corner as thestrip is being pulledout of the feed aperture.

Another problem encountered is that of the strip falling back into the box"orfall back. This necessitates breaking the seal of the container to restart the dispe'nsing process.

Another problem, especially when used in conjunction with control drugs, is that of not being able tosee the reverse numerical count printed on the remaining packets within the container should theperson responsible for. the drug count desire, or feel it necessary to do so, for instance, to check pilfering.

A constant source of concern in the'pharrnaceutical industry is that of carton control, that'is, the possibility of a mixup between product and package. Useof roll-feed labels offers the best known deterrent to mixup. In one advantageous embodiment the closing means for this package is a form of rollfeed label. 4 p i The cost of individually packaging tablets or capsules is greater than a bulk style pack. However, the advantage of unit does packaging for medication is becoming increasingly attractive to hospitals, pharmacies and the like. It follows that a unit dose package such as a strip package container that would offer at least equivalent package performance to those currently used plus a lower overall cost should be of commercial interest.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing container for strip-packaged materialswhich has improved feedout characteristics.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a dispensing container for strip-packaged materials which is more compact than conventional dispensing packages with equal capacity and has equivalent stackability 'or storage handling 'characteristics of packages known in the art.

It is a further object of this invention'to provide a dispensing package for strip-packaged materials which has transparent sides and bottom for positive identification. and count of the enclosed strip units.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container for dispensing strip-packaged materials which has as its closure a printed structure, printing copy to" be that of the label text and which may take the form of atoll-fed label thereby reducing label and, carton'control problems.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dispensing package for strip-packaged materials which has a lower package cost than conventional folding boxes used for this purpose. i

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from reading the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing package em-' bodying the features of the present invention with a strip pack shown in position forwithdrawal and withthe closure shown in exploded position; 1

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing a strip pack in position in the container and adjacent the withdrawal opening; I

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a strip pack which is useful in the practice of the present invention;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 8 are elevational views of alternate embodiments of a withdrawal opening for the dispensing package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the. embodiment of the withdrawal opening of FIG. 8; U

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of an alternate. embodiment of the withdrawal opening of FIG. 8; and I FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the dispensing package made in accordance with the present invention. 3

The objects of the present invention may be achieved with a dispensing package that is made up of'a receptacle for containing a strip pack, a closure to retain the strip pack in the receptacle, and a withdrawal opening, or; slot, defined in the receptacle through which the strip pack may be removed. The walls of the receptacle are substantially continuously curvilinear and preferably are circular. The receptacle may be made from any suitable material, such as clear vinyl, which may be vacuum formed, and clear styrene, which may be injection molded. Opaque material maybefused if desired, but the advantages of transparency are then not available.

A preferred embodiment is shown in'the drawings. A dispensing package 10 of the present invention is made up of a receptacle l2 and a closure 14. A strip pack 16 is disposed within the receptacle. The receptacle "12 has a substantially planar base 18 and a circular wall 20 disposed at substantially right angles to the base. At the portion'ofthewall distal to the base a rim 22 is provided to which the. closure 14 may be connected, for instance by heat sealing, adhesives or the like. A withdrawal opening, or slot, 24 is provided in the wall 20 for the withdrawal of the strip pack 16.

A preferred strip pack 16 is shown in FIG. 3 and is made up of a front strip 26 and a back strip 27 which are sealed together, in well known manner, on opposite sides of a medicament 28, generally defining a compartment 29 for the medicament 28. The medicament may be any solid dose fonn,

typically, tablets or capsules. The individual medicament does forms may be made separable from one another by perforations 30 to permit easy separation of one or more individual packets 34A, 34B, 34C, etc. from the remainder. Each packet has an indicia 32 applied to it. The indicia is typically the identification of the medicament and maybe applied by printing or the like. The preferred strip pack 16 differs from known strip packs in that is has notches 31 defined on opposite sides of the strips at perforations 30. The use and advantages of the notches 31 is described below.

As is shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 8 the slot through which the strip pack is removed may take a number of fonns. The slot configuration is preferably such that the strip pack is lightly held between the wall end portions forming the slot so that fall-back of the strip pack into the receptacle is prevented. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 the slot 36 is defined by straight portions 38, 40, 42 and 44 with arcuate segments 46, 48 defined between portions 38 and 40, and 42 and 44, respectively. The rounded form of the opening is preferred for use with both tablets and capsules.

In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the slot 50 is defined on one side by a wall end portion 51 having a straight portion 52, a straight portion 54 at right angles to the straight 'portion 52, a straight portion 56 at right angles to the portion 54 and parallel to the portion 52, a straight portion 58 at right angles to the portion 56 and substantially parallel to the portion 54, and a straight portion 60 substantially in line with the portion 52 and at right angles to portion 58. The other side of. the slot is defined by wall end portion 53 having similar but mirror image portions 52', 54', 56'; 58' and 60'.

An alternate embodiment is shownin FIG. 6 in which a simple slot 62 is defined by wall end portions 64, 65. The end portions 64, 65 may be substantially aligned with one another.

I Retaining members 61, 63 are respectively defined at the top and bottom of the slot 62, and are sized to cooperate with the define a conveniently shaped opening 68 for the removal of 5 the strip pack 16, as is shown.

A particularly advantageous alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. in which end portions 82, 84 of wall D both extend outwardly and define an opening 83. The end portions 82, 84 converge toward each other so that at respective distal portions 86, 88 they lightly engage the packet 34A adjacent the medicament 28. The end portions 82, 84 are desirably flexible to apply light pressure to the packet yet readily yield to permit its passage in the direction of the arrow. The end portions 82, 84 are desirably of such length that as they engage the medicament 28, a retaining member 90 similar to the retaining members 61 and 63 of FIG. 7 engages a notch 31, not shown, in the strip pack.

The light engagement by the end portions 82, 84 and the cooperation of retaining member 90 with a notch both restrain the strip pack from fall-back. The end portion 92 of the strip pack 16 remains extended and may be easily grasped to withdraw the packet 34A.

In FIG. 11 is shown an alternate embodiment of a dispensing package 70 made up of a receptacle 72 and closure 74. The base 76 and the wall 78 are substantially similar to the base 18 and wall 20 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The rim 80 turns inwardly toward the center of the receptacle 72 and provides a surface for securing the closure 74, for instance, by heat sealing or adhesives or the like. The inward facing rim 80 results in package 70 requiring less storage area than package 10.

The receptacle 12 is filled by simply inserting a coiled strip pack 16 into it and starting the first packet out through the slot 24, preferably with a leader, not shown, which may for shipment be fastened to the outer side of wall 20, for instance, with pressure sensitive tape. The closure 14 is then applied to the rim 22 in substantially permanent fashion by heat sealing, solvents, adhesives or the like. Indicia 82 may be applied to the closure 14 before or after sa sealing. Preferably the closure 14 is a roll-feed label which, has printed on it indicia identifying the contents. If desired, adirection circular may be attached as the leader. In use, the strip pack 16 is pulled through the slot 24 until a desired number of individual packets is removed. The desired number of packets may then be separated from the remainder by tearing along the appropriate perforation.

Because the present invention eliminates sharp comers and internal structures, balling up" and binding are eliminated. Also the natural lubricity feel, or low surface friction, of the receptacle materials affords a surface having lower frictional coefficient, offers less resistance to the dispensing function, and reduces the balling up" tendency.

Storage or stackability is accomplished on the parallel faces. Identification of the product in the package is possible either by viewing the label closure or by viewing the printed strip pack through the transparent walls and base of the receptacle. The number of dose forms remaining in the strip pack may be checked by identifying in sequence the reverse numerical count applied to successive dose form chambers and may be confirmed by viewing the strip pack remaining in the chamber through the transparent receptacle.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

A spindle may be molded as an integral part of the receptacle bottom if desired. The spindle may be advantageous in order to provide support and assistance in the proper feed out of the strip packages. I

The container may be formed by vacuum forming as is well stantially planar segment extending from the flange and connected to the flange by a thinned section which acts as a hinge.

A withdrawal opening may advantageously be formed in the substantially planar segment. In the vacuum fonning art it is customary to separate the individual containers such as described above from the sheet by the severing action of a ver tically reciprocating die. It is a particularly advantageous feature of the present invention that using the shape described above no horizontal cuts need be made rather the bay windowlike protrusion may be cut from the wall with the same die and with the same motion that cuts the entire container from the sheet. The planar segment may then be folded down into the window formed by the removal of the protrusion thus placing the withdrawal opening in the desired position substantially tangential to the wall.

I claim:

1. A dispensing package for strip-packaged unit dose I medicarnents comprising:

A. receptacle having a base and a substantially continuously curvilinear wall coextensive with the periphery of said base and disposed at substantially right angles to said base;

B. closure connected to the periphery of said wall distal to said base; and

C. withdrawal opening defined in said wall and having a retaining member defining at least one extremity of the opening, said withdrawal opening further comprising first and second end portions of said wall, said first end portion having a depression defined in it extending away from said second end portion and said second end portion having a depression defined in it extending away from said first end portion.

2. A package as defined in claim 1 wherein said withdrawal opening has a retaining member defining at least one extremity of the opening.

3. A package as defined in claim 1 in which said depressions are substantially arcuate.

4. A package as defined in claim 1 in which said depressions are substantially rectilinear. 

